Watches, Stories, and Gear: A Real Life Lord of the Flies, the History of the Pitchfork Perfect 10, and Memories of Cannes

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of some of our favorite watch content on Worn & Wound, great stories from around the web, and cool gear that we’ve got our eye on.

This installment of “Watches, Stories, and Gear” is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop.

Worn & Wound
Review: Grand Seiko Elegance GMT Ref. SBGM221

This week saw the release of one of the coolest special edition Grand Seiko’s we can recall, the SBGM241 “Toge,” a collaboration with Watches of Switzerland. This green dialed dress GMT uses one of our favorite Grand Seiko references, the SBGM221, as a starting point. If you’re considering the new Toge, be sure to check out our review of Grand Seiko’s classic cream dialed GMT at the link below. The watches share a case, and the video and photography in Ilya’s review really highlight the unique geometry and subtle but impressive finishing.

Read it here

The Guardian 
The Real Lord of the Flies: What Happened When Six Boys Were Shipwrecked for 15 Months

Many of us read William Golding’s Lord of the Flies at one point or another, or seen the various film adaptations, but even if you haven’t, you’re likely familiar with the crux of the story: a group of children is shipwrecked on an island, their baser instincts take over, and anarchy and brutality quickly ensue. If Golding’s cautionary tale left an impression on you, you’ll likely be very surprised by this story from the Guardian, which examines an improbably real life situation remarkably similar to the fictional Flies. Not to spoil anything too badly, but the outcome is very different. This one’s worth a read if you’re craving an unlikely true adventure tale, or just want to enjoy a story that’s a bit of a pick-me-up during a difficult time.

Read it here

IGN 
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 Remaster 

If you were into video games in the early 2000s, you are probably about to watch this YouTube clip over and over again. Activision has released a trailer for their remastered versions of the iconic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games. The graphics have been improved, but apparently the gameplay is much the same, and, perhaps most importantly, the soundtrack that was embedded deep within the brains of gamers twenty years ago is back as well. The new versions of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2 drop in September.

The Ringer
Pitch Perfect: The History and Influence of the Pitchfork 10.0

Fiona Apple’s recently released “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” became the first new album in ten years to garner a perfect 10.0 rating from Pitchfork, the influential music criticism site famous for their lengthy, personal, and obsessively tracked album reviews. A 10.0 rating from Pitchfork is something of an event in certain music circles, and inevitably draws out reflective pieces like this one from the Ringer, which takes stock of the history of perfect scores from the website, and examines what they meant then, and continue to mean now. It’s a fun read for anyone who loves music, and particularly for anyone who has been reading Pitchfork for a long time.

Read it here

The Naked Watchmaker
Legacy Machine Perpetual 

If you’re a watch lover, particularly if you’re into mechanical movements, you really owe it to yourself to become familiar with The Naked Watchmaker. It’s something of a passion project for famed independent watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin, and is a showcase for the technical artistry of how watches actually work. It’s also just a great opportunity to enjoy some extremely well done high resolution imagery of watches that are frankly difficult to see in person. This breakdown of the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual is illuminating and helps even the novice grasp a better understanding of one of the most unique perpetual calendar movements ever made.

Read it here

The New York Times
We Miss You, Cannes: 23 Filmmakers Relive Indelible Moments

This week would have marked the beginning of the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most important points on the calendar for cinema lovers all over the world. Cannes, for over 70 years, has launched careers, minted classics, and served as perhaps photogenic gathering place for the film world. Obviously, in a worldwide pandemic, the festival was cancelled, which makes this piece in the New York Times all the more poignant. Here, filmmakers like Clint Eastwood, the Safdie Brothers, Claire Denis, and many more share their memories of Cannes, with evocative photographs that immediately transport you to the French Riviera in springtime, which seems like a pretty good place to be.

Read it here

Timex
Todd Snyder X Timex Liquor Store Watch

A watch that we brought to your attention last month (that we never really stopped thinking about) is now available. The latest collaboration between Timex and Todd Snyder is a tribute to the iconic Liquor Store in New York City, a storefront that is currently the home to a Todd Snyder retail location, but has a fascinating history dating back to the early 19th century. The new watch has a really fun ecru dial and gold accents, and it seems like it would be a versatile and casual summer watch if you’re looking for something that’s classically styled and not exactly in the sports genre.

Shop Timex x Todd Snyder here